Brunel's Olympic Hopefuls - Brunel University

More documents

Recommendations

Info

BRUNEL 2012 :: BRUNEL NEWS :: LINK MAGAZINE 8 Brunel’s Olympic Hopefuls Tom Aggar Date of Birth: 24 May 1984 Home town: Winchmore Hill, London Study at Brunel: MSc Sport Sciences Sport: Rowing, Arms only single scull At 21, Tom Aggar was just about to complete his degree at The University of Warwick, was playing a high level of rugby union and had an upcoming interview for his dream job, an officer in the Royal Marines. Tom embodied all of the traits for a successful life in sport, however it wasn’t until a 12 foot fall onto concrete left him with a broken back and ultimately changed his sporting direction. Tom’s love of sport was strong despite his disability, and he took up rowing to maintain his fitness after the accident. Within two years he was Paralympic and World champion in the ASM single scull boat class, and is the hot favourite to win gold in 2012. He will be the defending champion in the arms-only single sculls as well as being world champion, world record holder and World Rower of the Year in 2010. We take a look at three of Brunel’s Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls competing for gold at the London 2012 Games. Perri Shakes-Drayton Date of Birth: 21 December 1988 Hometown: Stratford, London Study at Brunel: Sport Sciences, 2011 Sport: Athletics, 400m hurdles Since graduating from Brunel last year, Perri has been able to focus on training full-time in the lead up to the Olympics. Although Perri won the 400m hurdles at the 2008 Olympic trials, she did not make the A grade selection standard, and was not chosen to represent Great Britain at Beijing. However, in 2009 she finished second at the British Championships in Birmingham and at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships won gold with a PB in the 400m hurdles. At the 2010 European Championships in Athletics Perri came away with the bronze medal with a PB performance. Perri was also the anchor runner in the 4x400m women’s relay team that won gold at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul in March, beating the USA by 0.03 seconds. Kate Walsh Date of Birth: 9 May 1980 Home town: Withington, Manchester Study at Brunel: Sport Sciences, 2003 Sport: Field Hockey Kate is the most experienced member of the Great Britain women’s hockey squad, having played internationally for more than a decade. In September 2010, during the World Cup in Argentina, Walsh won her 250th international cap and now has her eyes set on a remarkable 300 as the build up to London 2012 intensifies. Walsh is a previous winner of the Hockey Writers’ Club’s Player of the Year award and has led England to the podium at the World Cup, European Championships, Champions Trophy and Commonwealth Games. The women’s field hockey team is currently 4th in the world, and we’ll be watching eagerly to see if she can take her team to the podium.
Canadian racer Josh Cassidy, who won the men’s wheelchair event at the 2010 London Marathon. Brunel to host Athletics Canada for London 2012 Paralympic Games training camp Brunel is proud to host the Canadian Paralympic team this summer as their London 2012 Games preparation camp of choice. The agreement means that London 2012 fever will continue on campus beyond the departure of the Korean Olympic team on 12 August. The Canadian Team will arrive at Brunel in May 2012 for their Simulation Camp and Paralympic Test Event and will return to the campus from 20-26 August 2012 for their final pre-Games preparation. Ozzie Sawicki, Athletics Canada Para- Athletics Head Coach, looks forward to working with Brunel University on London 2012 preparations: “I am very excited to have a working relationship with Brunel and to utilise the University as the Canadian Para-Athletics training base leading up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games. I believe that Brunel offers the key preparation, training and logistical aspects that fit the needs of our elite performers.” Brunel offers some of the best university sports and athletics facilities in the UK, including an indoor centre for track and field, an outdoor six-lane 400-metres track, and exercise facilities for fitness and weight training. Altogether, these facilities have helped make the University a year-round base for top athletes, with members of the Great Britain and Jamaican athletics teams training on campus, including triple world record holder Usain Bolt. ICSEMIS 2012 BRUNEL 2012 :: BRUNEL NEWS :: LINK MAGAZINE Brunel Olympic Research Brunel University will play a leading role in hosting the forthcoming International Convention of Science, Education and Medicine in Sport, which will be held in the week prior to the London Games later this year (19-24 July). The Convention, which is backed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and runs in conjunction with the summer Olympiads every 4 years, will take place in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. Leading sport scientists and practitioners from all over the world will attend the convention, which is expected to generate more than £5m for the local economy. The event aims to advocate the work done in science, education and medicine in sport to a wider public audience; using sport to inspire a learning legacy. Brunel University Pro-Vice Chancellor Ian Campbell said, “Brunel is extremely proud to be leading this initiative on behalf of the UK higher education and research communities. ICSEMIS 2012 offers an opportunity for everyone involved in sport science and medicine to showcase the best of British sport science and to explain to the world how science underpins our recent Olympic and Paralympic successes.” Led by Professor Celia Brackenridge from the School of Sport and Education at Brunel, the organising consortium includes representatives from the University of Ulster, UWIC, University of Strathclide and Liverpool John Moores University. The five universities were recognised by the IOC as centres of excellence for physical education teacher training and sports science. Street Smart: Dr Laura Hills and Dr Simon Bradford StreetGames: Brunel researchers have won an award to help fund research into Olympicbased social project, StreetGames, a national charity designed to increase sports participation in young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Brunel’s Dr Laura Hills, senior lecturer in the School of Sport and Education and Dr Simon Bradford, a reader in the School of Health Sciences and Social Care, have been awarded 50,000 from StreetGames’ sponsor, Coca-Cola Foundation to lead the StreetGames project. The mission of the Project is to research legacy-building strategies that will drive participation in both sport and physical activity across socio-economically disadvantaged areas after the Olympic circus has moved on in the summer of 2012. To achieve this, four pilot interventions are being developed to increase involvement in “doorstep sport”. Professor Tess Kay, Director of the Brunel Centre for Sport, Health and Wellbeing, will be an advisor on the project. This is the first of what she hopes will be many grants won by members of her recently-launched University research centre. 9
Page 1 and 2: Brunel’s BRUNEL LINK THE BRUNEL U
Page 3 and 4: Welcome to the 2012 issue of Link m
Page 5 and 6: OBE rewards Professor Celia Bracken
Page 7: A Clockwork Orange revisits Brunel
Page 11 and 12: Despite the challenges raised by th
Page 13 and 14: BRUNEL NEWS :: LINK MAGAZINE Queen
Page 15 and 16: Student Projects Name: Rosanna Well
Page 17 and 18: Developing the clean cars of the fu
Page 19 and 20: Bill’s argument stems from a seri
Page 21 and 22: “ Having only one superpower is u
Page 23 and 24: Alumni Benefits: Don’t miss out o
Page 25 and 26: The difference you have made: Borou
Page 27 and 28: Brunel Honorary Fellows 2011 Honora
Page 29 and 30: Natalie Stephenson, Physiotherapy,
Page 31 and 32: MA Writers recognised by leading li

Brunel's Olympic Hopefuls - Brunel University

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?